Friday, 07 April 2017 13:38

NCRI - Earlier in the week we were once again subjected to media reports showing the terrifying and heart-breaking images of dying men, women, children and babies following a horrific chemical attack that was carried out by the Assad regime in Syria.

As well as the dozens of people that died it has been estimated that over 400 people were left with symptoms of poisoning by sarin gas. As has happened in the past, the cowardly perpetrators of the attack bombed the hospital where the victims (most of whom were women and children) were being treated.

The barbarity of the attack is incomprehensible to most. Now, more than ever, is the situation in urgent need of interventional. Something must happen immediately to stop the bloodshed and the civilian loss of life.

Iran has been involved in the Syrian civil war since the beginning. When Assad was about to be defeated by the opposition, Iran brought in thousands of soldiers to fight for Assad. The Iranian regime has provided billions of dollars worth of support to Assad. The Iranian regime has basically kept Assad in power, for if it were not for its intervention, the Assad regime would have been toppled long ago. Iran has prolonged the war and is responsible for a large number of deaths in the country.

Earlier in the week, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said: “While we continue to monitor the terrible situation, it is clear that this is how Bashar al-Assad operates: with brutal, unabashed barbarism.” He urged Iran and Russia to stop Assad from using chemical weapons.

In recent weeks, more and more attention has been drawn to Syria and the countries supporting Assad, mainly Russia and Iran who have been receiving international criticism. Social media campaigns have been launched by the public, urging Iran in particular to cease all involvement in the country, with the hashtag #IranOutOfSyria.

Countries in the Gulf have also increased and intensified their condemnations of Iran’s meddling in not just Syria but other countries in the region. They have criticised the role of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) and have slammed the human rights violations that are taking place in the Islamic Republic. Furthermore, Iran’s support for proxy groups has been criticised, as have its nuclear program and ballistic missile program.

It is clear to the international community that Iran has a deadly influence in the region and is central to the issues in the Middle East. One of the most important and urgent steps that needs that needs to be taken is to evict Iran from Syria.

Thursday, April 6, 2017

US military launches 50 missiles at Syrian base near Homs province — media

April 07, 4:35UTC+3The Tomahawk missiles were intended for a single target - Ash Sha'irat, according to the NBC report

Share

8

NEW YORK, April 7. /TASS/. The US military fired at least 50 missiles at a military base of Syrian government forces near the Homs province in western Syria, the NBC TV channel reported citing US military officials.

The Tomahawk missiles were intended for a single target - Ash Sha'irat, according to the report. The launch of missiles comes in response to the alleged chemical attack in Syria’s Idlib.

Sunday, April 2, 2017

The pope highlighted the dangers of personality cults and populism in an interview. Francis spoke with German "Zeit" weekly in his first major interview with a German newspaper.

"Zeit" published a preview of an interview with Pope Francis, in which the pontiff highlighted the importance of taking a critical approach to matters of faith. Francis told the weekly newspaper that any kind of faith that didn't face times of crisis "remains infantile."

When asked whether he had ever doubted the existence of God, Pope Francis replied "I, too, know these empty moments."

"But crises also provide an opportunity to grow," he said.

A fallible pope

The interview, which is to be published in its full length on Thursday, is the first of its kind with a German newspaper since he became Pope four years ago. It deals with a number of spiritual as well as political issues, examining the Pope's personal outlook on a number of current events. The leader of the Catholic Church worldwide stressed as one of his key messages in the interview that he did not want a cult following to build around his persona:

"We mustn't forget that any form of idealization of a human being always brings a subliminal brand of aggression with it as well. If I am idealized I feel under attack," the Pope said, rejecting the personality cult that some members of the Church are cultivating.

Francis also told "Zeit" that he does not consider himself to be special in any way, saying about himself: "I, too, am a sinner, and am fallible."

Francis' crusade against populism

Taking his views one step further, Francis projected the same values on the growth of populism in politics around the globe, saying that "populism is evil and ends badly, as has been shown by the past century."

Francis said he was against his growing personality cult

"Populism means using the people," Pope Francis said, adding that it would always seek its justification in a compulsion to preserve the identity of the people. Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires, had previously compared the trend of growing populism with the rise of Hitler in Germany. He further said that populism always required "a messiah" figure to succeed, hinting at its incompatibility with Christian values and highlighting its foundation in fear while spreading a message of hope for people living under growing oppression:

"Truth means to be free of fear. Fears close doors. Freedom opens them. And when there is only little freedom, it can still open a small window at least."

A religion in flux

The interview with "Zeit" took place at the end of February 2017, also highlighting a number of issues and struggles the Catholic Church faces in Germany.

Will Catholics and Protestants reunite?

The Pope commented among other things on the growing lack of priests in the country, and also spoke about the celebration year of Martin Luther in Germany marking the occasion of the 500th anniversary of the start of the Protestant movement in central Europe.

Other issues discussed in the article include the Catholic Church's policy on celibacy for priests while allowing married priests from other Christian denominations to convert to Catholicism.

Friday, 31 March 2017 18:55

An Iranian-born Canadian arrested in a Washington city on the U.S.-Canadian border has been charged with conspiring to ship a piece of testing equipment used to calibrate missile guidance systems into Iran. Levi Pulkkinen reported in ‘Seattle PI’ on March 30, 2017.

Federal prosecutors claim Ghobad Ghasempour and two other men smuggled restricted items out of the United States to Iran through China. Ghasempour was charged Tuesday by federal prosecutors in Washington, D.C.

According to charging papers, Ghasempour created several front companies to help his father's friends Iran launder money and import products in violation of sanctions related to Iran's nuclear program. Ghasempour, who is alleged to have begun the scheme in December 2011, is accused of arranging to ship a table used to calibrate aeronautical sensors into Iran in violation of U.S. law.

A Chinese man managed the day-to-day operations of the China-based fronts, which arranged for goods to be shipped to Iran from the United States, China and Europe, a U.S. Homeland Security special agent said in charging papers. A man in Iran is alleged to have coordinated deliveries and money laundering for an engineering firm run by the Iranian government, Kiyan Saynpaniz International or KSP.

According to charging papers, Ghasempour told the Chinese man in 2012 that a friend of his father was having difficulty importing paper-making materials from Brazil due to sanctions imposed on Iran. The men are alleged to have arranged to use Iranian oil money to buy supplies for the paper factory.

As the scheme progressed, Ghasempour arranged to buy other items through the Chinese front companies, the special agent said in charging papers. The agent said Ghasempour and the Iranian man soon began requesting computer equipment not available in Iran.

Decade-old sanctions against Iran were eased in January 2016 after the Iranian government agreed to limit its nuclear program. In recent months, though, the U.S. State Department has sanctioned dozens of businesses and individuals thought to be doing business with Iran. Bills currently before both houses of Congress would sanction financial institutions and others linked to Iran's ballistic missile program.

A June 2012 email exchange showed Ghasempour explain that he “had a ‘frank’ discussion with (the Iranian) and learned that KSP is an Iranian government engineering company that also purchases items for different Iranian government agencies,” the special agent said.

“Ghasempour wrote that KSP will provide a lot of requests for items, but that the competition for the business is high and (their company) may not always win every bid,” the agent continued.

Among the items the men are alleged to have purchased were pieces of equipment used to test guidance systems used in aircraft. The items required a special license for export due to possible military applications, which include developing missile technologies.Describing the 2016 shipment, investigators claim the Iranian partner agreed to pay $500,000 for one of the testing tables. They arranged to ship the item to Iran through a Portuguese company.

Ghasempour is alleged to have conspired to violate U.S. law by conspiring to export the Ideal Aerosmith testing table. He was arrested Tuesday at Blaine, Washington.

Investigators also contend that, in October 2015, the Iranian partner contacted Ghasempour with an urgent request regarding sonar systems. According to charging papers, Ghasempour was good friends with a Vancouver-based employee of Vard, a Norwegian marine architect. He is alleged to have tried to use that friendship to broker connections between the company and the Iranian Ministry of Defense.

Investigators detailed a collection of front companies set up to skirt sanctions limiting exports to Iran. They said Chinese partner and Ghasempour legitimized Iranian money through a Chinese bank with “ease.”

Ghasempour has been charged with conspiracy to unlawfully export U.S.-origin goods to Iran. The two other men named in court papers have not be charged publicly.